About the conference

The Linguistics Section of the Department of English Studies at the
University of Cyprus is pleased to announce the 1st Cyprus
Undergraduate Linguistics Conference (CULC), which will be held at
the University of Cyprus (New Campus) on the 26th April 2017 from 9:00
am to 2:00 pm.

The abstracts for the above presentations (sorted alphabetically
according to first author’s surname) can be found in the following
pages.

Abstracts

Cypriot Greek in Facebook advertisements: Would you buy it?

Marilena Adamidou

Department of Business and Public Administration, University of Cyprus

Being diglossic, the Greek Cypriot community uses Cypriot Greek (CG) for
informal communication and Standard Greek (SG) in more formal contexts.
Speakers also have different attitudes towards these two Greek varieties
(Papapavlou 2005). In addition, CG is not generally used in the media,
except for humoristic purposes, and not in advertising, except for oral
advertisements of traditional, local products (Pavlou 2004). However,
research is needed to uncover the not-so-straightforward use of the two
varieties in Cyprus.

When using CG in advertising, an emotional appeal is created for the
receiver of the message (see Pavlou 2004). This study examines what
happens when Cypriot Greek is used in written form, on Facebook, for
advertising an online service which is a low-involvement product, i.e.,
when the cost for buying the product and the risk are not high for the
consumer.

A five-week experiment was conducted under real circumstances on
Facebook. Pairs of advertisements for the same product (one in SG and
another in CG) were designed and run on Facebook. The data are now being
analysed. At first glance, it seems that in many cases CG advertisements
were much more effective than those in SG, but the conversion rate was
in many cases the same, or lower for advertisements in CG. Taking into
consideration the criteria according to which Facebook serves the
advertisements to its users, this possibly means that CG advertisements
are much more engaging, but less convincing to the users.

Pavlou, Pavlos (2004). Greek dialect in the mass media in Cyprus. In
International Journal of the Sociology of Language 168, 101–118.

The perception of CG geminates by SMG speakers

Effrosyni Andreou, Evi Economou, Jasmine Goudelis

Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus

There are many significant differences between Standard Modern Greek
(SMG), and Cypriot Greek (CG). In this research, we are interested in
geminates which exist in CG but not in SMG and which are pronounced with
longer duration (and in the case of plosives, with also longer
aspiration) compared to their singleton counterparts. Specifically, we
are focusing on the voiceless plosives /p/, /t/, /k/, and on the two
liquids /l/ and /ɾ/. We used ten minimal pairs of words differing only
in gemination. Some of the words exist in SMG, but others do not. The
subjects of the study are twenty-one adults; seven of them are speakers
of the CG dialect and the remaining fourteen are speakers of SMG. SMG
speakers are divided equally to those who are currently staying in
Cyprus and to those who live in Greece. Our aim is to investigate
whether the participants of SMG can perceive the gemination contrast
without being influenced by the context of the sentence. Hence, we used
the same sentence for all twenty words. Moreover, we measure the amount
of time the subjects need in order to complete the task. Furthermore, we
are examining whether the speakers of SMG who live in Cyprus have a
better perception of the CG geminates, due to their environmental input
of CG. We expect to find that speakers of SMG have more incorrect
answers than the CG-speaking subjects, and the latter to exhibit no
errors. Considering the time needed to complete the test, we assume that
SMG speakers will need more time than the CG speakers.

Language and Song: Arguments for a Complementary Relationship

Vasilis Christodoulou

Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus

One of the greatest enigmas in the study of human cognition is the
origin of natural language. In the face of severe lack of concrete
evidence regarding the emergence of language, theorists like Chomsky
(1996) and Ulbaek (1998) have approached the matter in conjunction with
discontinuity or continuity approaches: language as a chance mutation,
or language as an evolved form of primate linguistic precursors. The
current paper assumes the latter approach, and draws on the many
correlations between language and song, both empirically and
theoretically: Aitchison’s (1996) studies on birdsong indicate many
processes of birdsong similar to natural language. Musicological studies
like Cross and Woodruff (2009) indicate the socio-communicative
dimension of music in relevance to culture, theory of mind, and
language. These convergences are taken to indicate the human capacity
for culture through the complementary agency of the three faculties:
music, language, and theory of mind. Furthermore, the existence of tone
languages like the Hmong language and the musicality of languages such
as Ancient Greek (McWhorter, 2015), as well as the interplay of the two
faculties within cognitive impairment environments such as Williams
syndrome and Down’s syndrome (Judy Barker, 1999) will be considered, to
conclude that a holistic view of these correlations could provide one
with insight into the emergence of language, the complementary nature of
these domains, and prospects for its development regarding language
teaching and the treatment of linguistic impairments.

McWhorter, J. (2015). The World’s Most Musical Languages. The
Atlantic.

Phoneme restoration of missing speech sounds in Greek

Marina Christofi, Christina Yiannou, Eirini Christodoulidou

Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus

Under some specific conditions, sounds missing from a continuous speech
stream can be interpreted by the brain and can be heard clearly. This
misleading phenomenon, known as the phonemic restoration effect, which
was initially introduced by Richard M. Warren in the 70s (Carroll 2008:
88), unfolds the ability of the brain to recognise speech sounds in
noisy situations in everyday life. Actually, phonemic restoration is a
phenomenon where a phoneme is replaced by a non-speech sound.

Undergraduate University students, both of male and female gender,
participated in the research. Participants were requested to carefully
listen to recorded spoken sentences in which some sounds were deleted.
If the phoneme is predictable by the context, the participants are
certain that they heard the missing sound. If not, then the participants
were quite confused.

This research was an attempt to get some new ideas and perspectives
based on new findings on the “Phonemic Restoration of Missing Speech
Sounds”. In essence it is a reduplication study of other researchers
and the aim was to compare this research’s findings with other studies’
results.

Cypriot Greek Geminates in Political Speech

Irene Chrysostomou, Antroula Erotokritou, Christodoulos Nikolaou

Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus

This paper outlines the phonetic phenomenon of gemination in Cypriot
Greek (CyGr). By introducing the sociolinguistic concept of social
networks and the political context in Cyprus, we analysed speech samples
of members from the three main Cypriot political parties, AKEL, DIKO,
and DISI. More specifically, we gathered data from three male
politicians for each party using high register speech. We extracted
tokens of gemination in similar environments from video recordings; more
precisely, we extracted 3 tokens from each participant and 9 tokens from
each political party in total. These tokens were later analysed using
PRAAT to extract accurate measurements. Our initial hypothesis was that
the ideology of each party about CyGr will be reflected on the speech
patterns of each politician. Our hypothesis was tested and led to a
discussion of our findings in relation to the presented theoretical
background.

References

Arvaniti, A. (2010). A brief review of Cypriot Phonetics and Phonology.
The Greek Language in Cyprus from Antiquity to the Present Day.
University of Athens: 107–124.

Ta ɾiˈaʝːa, ɾiˈaʎːa: Aspects of Yeísmo in Cyprus

Demetris Karayiannis, Andreas Pingouras

Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus

Using a modified version of Labov’s (1966) planned interview methodology
from his New York study, we tried to find the age distribution of the
voiced palatal fricative [ʝː] and palatal lateral approximant [ʎː]
allophones in the Cypriot Greek variety of Nicosia residents, and the
prevalence of the [ʝː] allophone among Paphos residents when compared
to Nicosia residents. The experiment was made up of four parts: a) a
list of pictures incorporated in simple sentences b) a list of words
c) a poem d) a short narrative. The four parts were randomised, the
contents of each individual part, however, were fixed. The entire
experiment, including the instructions and any conversation between
interviewer and interviewee, was conducted entirely in Cypriot Greek to
avoid priming the interviewee into responding in a more formal style.
The subjects were divided into four age groups, namely: 18–34, 35–50,
51‍+. Our hypothesis was that there would be no meaningful difference in
the distribution of the two allophones between age groups in Nicosia,
that the palatal fricative has fallen out of use across all age groups,
at least to some extent, and, consequently, that the palatal lateral
approximant allophone would have become more prevalent throughout the
population when compared to older studies of Cypriot Greek. In Paphos,
we postulated that the [ʎː] variant would be much more prevalent, and
that the [ʝː] variant would be very rare, as attested by Pappas
(2014).

References

Labov, W. (1966). The Social Stratification of English in New York
City. Washington: Center for Applied Linguistics.

The use of Cypriot Greek in media space

Andrea Kontou, Kyriaki Manoli, Marianna Chatzigianni

Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus

Nowadays, a tendency towards the usage of Cypriot Greek (CG) in the world of media has been observed, which comes in opposition to the dominant perception of Standard Modern Greek (SMG) as the only suitable variety to be used in formal contexts. Accordingly, this study attempts to observe the use of CG and SMG in the media space, as well as the context in which these varieties are used. Throughout this research, it is explored whether CG has gained ground in TV programs and the current prestige of the Cypriot variety. More precisely, three TV programs (“Ola gia sena”, “Xipnisate?”, “Me agapi Christiana”) with informative and entertaining nature, which are shown only on Cypriot TV, have been investigated. The focus has been on the broadcasters’ speech, specifically, on the phenomena of code-mixing and code-switching and on whether they occurred consciously or unconsciously. These phenomena are examined through observation at various linguistic levels such as phonology, morphology and syntax, based on other studies that have also investigated the use of CG in the world of media, such as Tsiplakou & Ioannidou (2012). The findings revealed that the variety mostly used by the broadcasters was Cypriot Standard Greek —the acrolectal pole of CG approximating (but not coinciding with) SMG— and that purely SMG and Cypriot Koine (and sometimes even basilectal CG forms) were clearly used only in specific contexts. A previous similar study conducted by Pavlou (2004) has attempted to evaluate the status of the Cypriot variety, the results of which will be compared with the findings of this study.

Greek Heritage Speakers in the USA: An examination of language and identity

Christiana Metaxas

Binghamton University, State University of New York

Research in bilingualism only goes as far back as the 1950s with such
studies as Weinreich (1953), Haugen (1953), and Mackey (1967). While
there are some studies that explore Greek and English speaking
bilinguals in the United States, (Seaman 1972 and Bardis 1976), there is
little research that focuses on more recent generations of American-born
Greek heritage speakers, many of whom are further removed from their
immigrant ancestors. The goal of my research project is to examine the
Greek heritage speaking community in the United States. In my paper, I
investigate language ability and attitudes towards the heritage and
language. Furthermore, I investigate certain phonological realizations
that may distinguish an individual as a Greek heritage speaker who was
born and grew up in the United States. First, in order to understand the
complex linguistic history that contributes to the Hellenic identity, I
provide a survey of the Greek language from antiquity to modern-day
Greece, and its eventual migration to the United States. Next, I outline
the methodology of my study: I conduct an online survey of college-aged
Greek-Americans and ten qualitative interviews with Greek-Americans of
varying ages. I then report the results and provide an analysis of the
data collected. The data identifies participants’ experience with the
Greek language, their attitudes towards their Greek-American heritage,
and an optional oral section where they are asked to read out loud a
list of Greek words. Using the collected data and other informed
research, I examine language as a function of identity and investigate a
number of phonological phenomena relating to diphthongization, rhotic
realization, and palatalization. I compare attitudes about heritage,
self-assessed language ability, and pronunciation of Greek words among
participants of differing backgrounds and exposure to the Greek language
and culture. Lastly, I describe how factors such as exposure to the
language and culture may be reflected in Greek language attitudes and
pronunciation of heritage speakers. My hope is that this study will
inspire further linguistic examination of Modern Greek as a heritage
language.

Contrastive study of the French prepositions pendant, depuis, pour

Christina Stylianidou

Department of French and European Studies, University of Cyprus

This paper examines the French prepositions Pendant, Depuis, Pour
(During/For, For/Since, For respectively in English), and more
specifically how they are expressed as adverbs of time. Since all three
adverbs express duration, the learners find difficulties in their use in
French, due to the fact that there are differences on how the duration
is being expressed between the French language and their mother tongue.
For this reason, this work mostly analyzes what their semantic
equivalents are through different grammar books and dictionaries.
Unfortunately, this does not seem to be helpful for the learners of the
French language, since the equivalents do not reflect the grammatical
aspect that expresses how the action, denoted by a verb, extends over
time, so a contrastive study was carried out from parallel corpora.
During the presentation, a general synopsis will be presented of the
overall study, by underlying firstly what their equivalents are in
Greek; secondly, the main two corpora of the study, Source and
Linguee and lastly, the conclusions, with emphasis on the common
characteristics and the divergences between the two languages, according
to the results from the corpora.

The Acquisition of Preposition Placement by L1-Cypriot-Greek EFL speakers

Kornilia Theodorou, Georgia Kyriakou, Irene Chrysostomou

Department of English Studies, University of Cyprus

The purpose of the current study is to investigate the acquisition of
preposition placement by speakers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
with Cypriot Greek as their native language (L1). Relevant studies
involving EFL speakers have examined the preference between preposition
pied-piping and stranding; they have also observed the omission of
prepositions, which is considered ungrammatical. A study involving
native English speakers (Radford, Felser & Boxell, 2012) has explored
yet another pattern of preposition placement, namely preposition
doubling; to our knowledge, EFL studies have not addressed this.
Therefore, this study aims at investigating the extent to which
L1-Cypriot-Greek EFL speakers produce instances of preposition
stranding, pied-piping, omission or doubling, as well as which of these
they judge as acceptable. First- and fourth-year English-major students
at the University of Cyprus whose mother tongue is Cypriot Greek
participated in an oral production and a written acceptability judgment
task. Both tasks comprised syntactic structures with different clausal
complexity (interrogatives vs. relative clauses). The hypotheses are:
(a) in the oral production task, both first and fourth year students
will omit or double the prepositions, but the former group to a greater
extent than the latter; (b) in the acceptability judgment task, both
first and fourth year students will accept the structures involving
omitted or doubled prepositions, but the former group to a greater
extent than the latter; and (c) the clausal complexity will have a
stronger effect on first year students in both the production and the
acceptability judgment task regarding the omission and/or the doubling
of the prepositions.